Parts of a Puzzle
by irish
Summary: A disturbing vision links the people of Johnny's life together. COMPLETE!
1. Prologue

The Dead Zone Fan Fic  
  
Parts of a Puzzle  
  
Author's notes - I have only seen about 10 episodes in the first season up to Shaman. I really like Johnny and Dana together so it is going to be explored somewhat.   
  
Summary – All the people in Johnny's life are part of a disturbing vision he must piece together.  
  
Characters – Johnny, Bruce, Dana, Sarah, Walt, Little Johnny.  
  
Spoilers – First Season up to Shaman.  
  
Disclaimer – The Dead Zone belongs to USA Network and Lions Gate Television and is based on the characters and novel by Stephen King.  
  
Content – Drama/angst  
  
Rating – R  
  
*******  
  
Prologue  
  
The humidity made the air stifling. It was like a furnace turned on full blast. The heavy clouds trapped the heat between them and the ground. As the sun broke through the heavy clouds the man with the sandy hair drove in a jeep along the country road towards the town of Cleaves Mills in Maine. Johnny Smith was deep in thought as he drove. His life had changed so much in the last few months. He was getting used to the fact that he had been in a coma for 6 years, that Sarah had married someone else, his mother was dead and he had a son. Those things he could just about deal with but it was also the fact that with his accident he had gained something else. The visions. His new found psychic ability. People knew him now and wanted his help. He didn't want this. He didn't want to be known. All he wanted now was to be left alone. But that wasn't to be.   
  
His reverie was interrupted by his jeep bumping over a pot hole. It must have been a pretty big one as he nearly lost control of his jeep. He jammed on the breaks just seconds before the jeep crashed into a wall. He sat in the jeep for a couple of minutes wondering why he hadn't gotten any visions of this near accident. Grabbing his cane he got out of the jeep and examined it for damage.   
  
"Oh great!" He exclaimed when he saw that one of the back tires was flat. He looked into the back of the jeep and saw that the spare was there. Laying his cane carefully by the jeep he leaned in and pulled at the spare tyre….  
  
//  
Heavy rain fell and wind blew around him as he struggled to change the tyre…  
//  
  
…He looked up into the sky and saw that the sun had gone back in behind the clouds and they were looking like they were going to let a serious amount of rain fall. He could hear the low rumble of thunder in the distance. A light wind picked up.  
"Oh well that's just perfect," Johnny muttered to himself. Placing the tire beside the car he grabbed the rest of the equipment and laid it on the ground. Ignoring the ache in his hip he knelt down and proceeded to loosen the nuts and bolts. They were much tighter that he thought they were going to be. He felt the first drop of rain hit his forehead and soon it was bouncing off the ground. Johnny was only wearing a light jacket and pair of jeans that were soon soaked through. His hip hurt a lot now as he finished off changing the tyre. He bit his lip to try and forget about the pain. His cell phone started to ring as he threw the stuff into the back of the jeep. Grabbing his cane he limped to the driver's seat and grabbed the phone just as it stopped ringing. He looked at the caller id and saw that Sarah had called.   
*It can wait till I get home,* he thought to himself as he drove off.   
  
Bruce was waiting at the Smith house when Johnny arrived.  
"What happened to you?" the physical therapist asked as a rain sodden Johnny got out of the car.  
"Unfortunately, Bruce, my amazing powers can't predict the weather or when I'm going to get a flat," grumbled Johnny limping past the other man.   
"It's a pity they don't. We'd be living the high life if you could," Bruce said watching carefully as Johnny limped to the door. "You in pain?"  
"I think it's affected by the weather. Hey. Imagine that. You can see the headlines. Johnny Smith's leg predicts bad weather. Just another freakish talent."  
Bruce sighed. "Hey, you are not a freak."  
The sound of a car coming up the driveway made them both turn. It came to a stop by the steps and Dana Bright climbed out of the car.   
"Hey guys," she said sweetly. She looked from one man to the other. She and Johnny appraised each other. It had only been a few weeks since they slept together. That night had changed something between them and she found herself thinking more and more about him.   
Johnny smiled. "Hi."  
"You better get inside and change your clothes before you catch pneumonia," the red head said with a note of concern in her voice.   
Bruce watched the two eyeing each other up and rolled his eyes. "Yep, get in there and change before you get sick." He pushed Johnny through the open door and the man immediately reacted to the touch. The room seemed to spin and he fell on his knees to the floor as his vision started to flash before him…  
  
//  
…fast flowing water…trees…a stone bridge…police sirens…body taken out of the river…fast flowing water…trees…a stone bridge…police sirens…body taken out of the water……fast flowing water…trees…a stone bridge…police sirens…body taken out of the river…fast flowing water…trees…a stone bridge…police sirens…body taken out of the water   
//  
  
  
Just as fast as the vision came to Johnny it left him again and he held onto the door as he fought to control his breathing. The intensity of the vision alarmed him. He ran a trembling hand through his hair as he got to his feet. Ignoring the helping hand offered by Bruce he picked up his cane and headed towards the kitchen.   
"What did you see?" Dana asked.  
"Not sure yet."  
"Good, bad or indifferent?" asked Bruce.  
Johnny turned around with a haunted look on his face. "Bad. Definitely bad."  
  
TBC 


	2. Chapter 1

Notes and Disclaimer as part one.  
  
I fixed a slight error in this part which is why I'm uploading it again.  
  
Chapter 1  
Sarah picked up her cell phone and stared at it. Almost as if she was willing it to ring. She sat down at the table and fanned herself with a magazine. The air conditioning had packed in. Walt had promised to fix it last week but hadn't gotten around to it. She picked up the phone again and wondered why Johnny hadn't called her back. It had been nearly half an hour since she had called. Usually he called back straight away. She sighed with frustration and put the phone back on the table. She stood up again and walked over to the A/C unit and pressed some buttons. The unit made some groaning noises and then stopped. She hit the unit but nothing happened. She stared out the kitchen window thinking about Johnny when her cell phone rang. She eagerly picked her phone up but noticed on the caller id that it wasn't Johnny. It was Walt.  
"Hi Honey," her husband said as he sat at his desk in the sheriff's office.  
"Walt," replied Sarah trying to sound not too disappointed that it was not Johnny who had called her.  
"How would you and Johnny like to go camping this weekend?"  
"He still has problems with his hip. I'm not sure if camping is his thing," replied Sarah.  
There was silence on the phone as Walt realised who she was talking about. "I'm talking about our son."  
Sarah was horrified when she realised what she had just said. "You promised to fix the A/C this weekend. It's like a hundred degrees here."   
Walt stared at the picture of his wife and son on his desk. All his enthusiasm for the camping trip had evaporated. "I'll fix it tonight," he said flatly.  
"Ok. We can talk about the trip at dinner," replied Sarah hearing the tone in his voice.  
"See you later. Love you," replied Walt.  
Sarah smiled. "Love you too."  
Walt hung the phone up and picked the picture up in his hands. He wondered if Sarah had really meant it. He knew she was distracted since Johnny came out of his coma. Maybe a camping trip with her and their son would allow them to have time together as a family  
  
******  
  
"So let me get this straight. You don't know where or who this is going to happen to," Bruce said after Johnny described his vision.  
Johnny paced up and down the living room. "No."  
Dana sat on the couch feeling a little weary at watching him pace up and down. "I think you're going to wear out that carpet."  
Bruce let out a long sigh as he looked at the red head. "And why are you here?"  
"Oh. I just stopped by to let Johnny know that the article "My date with Johnny" would be in next Sunday's magazine." She glanced over at her "date" who had stopped pacing. A small smile formed on his lips. "I hope I get a preview."  
The reporter returned the smile as she remembered how he had also saved her life. "Of course."   
Bruce rolled his eyes again as the two stared at each other. "Well now you've told him. Maybe you could leave."  
"No! We have a vision to work through!" exclaimed the woman excitedly. "This would be an interesting angle to work on. Piecing together a vision. It's like solving a puzzle. The readers would be interested in the process."  
Bruce shook his head. "Absolutely not, Dana."  
"Why not? I can call my editor and get approval for the story." Dana was getting excited at the thought of the story with her by-line.  
"No way," Bruce said in a firm tone of voice.  
While Bruce and Dana argued the subject of the argument sighed heavily. "Hey. I am still in the room, you know."  
They appeared taken aback at the interruption. "Johnny. It would be a great story," Dana said.  
His mouth went into a tight line and he let out a slow breath. "As much as I would love it I'm gonna have to say no this time." He saw the disappointed look that she gave him. "Only until I can work out what it means." He ushered the reporter out of the room before she could say anything. Before she knew it she was standing on the front porch. The thunderstorm hadn't cleared any of the humidity from the air even if the rain had stopped. He followed her down the steps to the car taking in her slender frame under the formal grey suit she was wearing. He could smell her light perfume. "I'll call you."  
She turned around to find him standing right behind her and her eyes met his intense blue gaze. "Johnny, I just wanted to say…"  
"What?"   
She was silent for a few seconds. "Thanks."  
He nodded knowing that's not what she was going to say but knew she wouldn't want him to pursue the real issue. "I'll let you have the exclusive."   
She glanced briefly at the ground as if to break the eye contact and then looked at him again. She wanted to touch him, touch his hair, stroke his cheek, something to make a connection with him but was afraid to. She was afraid of what he would see in the vision. But most of all she was afraid of getting too close. She had let down her defences with him that night and he had seen her vulnerability.   
As if sensing her inner turmoil Johnny smiled and reached for the car door. Instantly he was transported back to his bedroom where they made love. Then the vision changed….  
  
//  
…fast flowing water…trees…feet running....sound of a heartbeat…police sirens…body taken out of the river…fast flowing water…trees…feet running…sound of a heartbeat...police sirens…body taken out of the water…fast flowing water…trees…feet running…sound of a heartbeat…police sirens…body taken out of the river…fast flowing water…trees…feet running…sound of a heartbeat…police sirens…body taken out of the water  
//  
  
As Dana got into the car she saw the glazed and unfocused look in his eyes and realised he'd had a vision. "What?"  
He shook off the vision and looked at her. He wasn't sure what these visions meant and didn't want to say anything to her yet. "I just had a flash of… that night and us…"  
"Really?" Dana asked with a grin.  
"Yeah."  
"Are you sure it was a flashback?"   
He shrugged his shoulders but said nothing else. She laughed and then said goodbye. Johnny watched as she drove off.  
  
******  
TBC  
  
I hope you have enjoyed this so far. As it is a WIP I'll post the rest soon. Please review :-) 


	3. Chapter 2

Author's Notes - I have tried to upload this chapter several times but the formatting in a text document didn't look right. I'm now going to try it with word. I wish it would just upload properly. Does anyone else have this problem? This is the last time I am going to try. If it doesn't look right let me know. Hope you are all enjoying this!  
  
Chapter 2  
  
Johnny watched as Bruce placed two mats on the floor on the study. He wasn't in the humour for therapy today but knew that the physical therapist wouldn't let him get away with it. "Ok. So thirty minutes on the bike and then we'll do some Yoga." Johnny looked a little uncomfortable at the mention of Yoga. "Isn't Yoga where you have to sit with your legs behind your ears.or something like that? I don't think." Bruce chuckled knowing that Johnny wouldn't be keen on it. "Well that's a little advanced but Yoga can balance the mind and the body so coupled with the Biofeedback you might be able to get the visions under control." "It's these latest visions that puzzle me," replied Johnny. "So you saw almost the same thing with Dana?" Johnny sat on the bike and startled to peddle. "It was a little different but yeah." Bruce sat on one of the mats with a clipboard in his hand. He marked something on the clipboard and then looked at Johnny. "So you've no idea where all this takes place?" Johnny stopped peddling but saw the glare from Bruce so he started to peddle again. He shook his head. "I don't have the time or location this time." "I guess you'll just have to wait and see when the vision is complete." "Yeah, but Bruce.what if it's too late." Johnny stopped peddling. He had a troubled look on his face. Bruce let a small sigh escape from his lips. "If it is it's not your fault." Johnny got down off the bike and picked up the towel that was on the back of the bike. A look of irritation flitted across Bruce's face as he followed him out the door. "You're not finished." "I have to find the location!"  
*******  
Dana filed her nails as she sat at her desk in the office of the Bangor Daily News. She was meant to be writing an expose on a local politician and was waiting for a source to call her with some information. She put down the nail file and clicked on her computer. She glanced through the information she had so far but without the source's information she couldn't continue. She leaned back in her chair and watched the comings and goings in the office. Then she saw Johnny heading towards her through the maze of computer terminals and desks. Heads turned and voices whispered to each other as the other reporters realised who it was. She got out of her chair and made her way to meet him. "Johnny?" She saw the anxious look on his face. "What is it? He glanced back at the other people in the office who were now staring at him and Dana. She nodded her head understanding that he wanted to talk to her confidentially. She led him to the conference room.  
Dana tapped a pencil against her notepad as she listened to the man sitting at the table in front of her. "Why didn't you tell me? "Dana. I need you to help me find this place so I can stop what's going to happen." Johnny's voice was beginning to take on an urgent pleading tone. She pushed a lock of hair from her eyes as she considered her next answer. "It'll be impossible to find the location, Johnny. Do you know how many acres of woodland there is in Maine? Not to mention rivers with bridges?" Johnny leaned across the table with his eyebrows furrowed. "Someone that we know will die unless we do something!" The woman let out a slow deep breath. "Ok. I'll do what I can. Have you talked to the sheriff? Johnny shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "I didn't want to bother him." She nodded slowly knowing Johnny still had feelings for Sarah. "May be a good idea." He slowly got out of his seat trying to ignore the stiffness in his hip. He picked up the silver topped cane. "Thanks Dana. I owe you one." The red headed woman smiled. She opened the door for him and waited till he went through it. "Yes you do!" He turned to look at her and smiled a grateful smile. "Thanks."  
She watched as he made his way to the exit. Her editor, who was talking to another reporter, watched him leave and then headed over to her. "What did he want?" "Help," replied Dana. "Make sure you do help him. Get the story," her editor said. Dana shot him a look of irritation but said nothing and walked back over to her desk.  
"So is she going to help you?" Bruce asked as Johnny got back to the cruiser. Johnny nodded. "Good. Now maybe we can get back and finish your therapy." Johnny crumpled his face up. "Do we have to?" "Yes!" The shrill ringing of a cell phone broke the tension between them and Johnny pulled his out of his pocket and looked at the caller id. It was Sarah so he answered it. "Sarah." "Your psychic abilities are getting better," she said. "Caller id. Amazing invention," joked Johnny. "Oh." Sarah felt a little silly. She was silent for a few seconds. "Hello?" "Oh. I called you earlier." Johnny nodded. "Yes you did. I got caught in that thunderstorm changing a flat tyre.Got soaked to the skin." "Make sure you don't catch the flu or something. I wouldn't want to see you getting sick." Johnny wasn't sure how to respond so he said nothing. In the olden days, before the car accident and the six year coma, he would have responded with something risqué but their relationship had changed so much that his response would be inappropriate. "How did your meeting with Reverend Purdy go?" Sarah asked remembering the real reason why she had called. That was where Johnny had been earlier before he got the flat. "Oh. Fine. Just had to sign some papers relating to the estate," replied Johnny. He wasn't sure if he trusted the good Reverend with so much of his life but didn't want to rock the boat yet. Maybe one day he'll ask for control of his trust. Whether or not Reverend Purdy would let him would be another thing. "Would you like to come to dinner tonight?" Sarah asked. "I'm making JJ's favourite." He smiled at the mention of his son's name. "Ok." "See you around 6?" asked Sarah. "Yep," replied Johnny and disconnected the call.  
  
Bruce had to work at the hospital so he dropped Johnny at his house. Johnny stood in the hallway of the house pondering the vision.  
  
TBC 


	4. Chapter 3

My apologies for not posting this sooner. I was distracted with another fic.

Chapter 3

Johnny listened to the radio as he drove over to the Bannerman house for dinner. The weather forecast was for more humidity and thunderstorms. Fresher weather wasn't due until the beginning of next week. He pulled up outside the house and stared at the outside for a few minutes. He felt a stab of jealousy when he saw the police cruiser parked in the driveway. Although he liked and respected Walt he was envious that the man had what he wanted most. Sarah and a family.

"I thought you wanted me to fix the A/C tonight," Walt said to his wife as she prepared Chilli dogs for dinner.

"I do!" exclaimed Sarah. A fan whirled noiselessly over the sink but it didn't create the cool air that she wanted.

Walt took a beer out of the fridge and opened it. He took a long drink from it and set the bottle down on the table. "So why did you invite Johnny over?" 

"He's all alone in that house. Thought he could do with a home cooked meal," replied Sarah. She picked up the bottle that Walt had set down and took a drink from it. She smiled innocently at her husband.

He took the bottle from her. "If you wanted one why didn't you ask?"

"I only wanted a sip," laughed Sarah. She turned around and started to wash some dishes. Walt grinned and sneaked up to his wife and nuzzled her neck. She giggled and turned around. He placed a tender kiss on her lips.

"Um…" A voice said suddenly broke the moment. They both turned to see Johnny standing at the door. He seemed ill at ease at intruding at such a time. "The door was open."

Sarah pushed a piece of hair behind her ear and seemed uncomfortable as well. Walt noticed her discomfort. A palpable silence descended on the three until Walt moved over to the fridge. "Beer, Johnny?"

Johnny nodded. "Yeah." 

Walt handed him the beer. The minute Johnny took the bottle a vision came to him. 

//

_thunder and lightening … trees… fast flowing water…body taken out of the river… fast flowing water… thunder and lightening…trees…body taken out of the river… thunder and lightening …fast flowing water…trees… body taken out of the river…fast flowing water…trees… thunder and lightening… body taken out of the river_.

                                                                                                             //

Walt saw the glazed expression on Johnny's face and realised he was having a vision. He looked over at Sarah but she was busying herself around the oven. "So the weather isn't supposed to cool down till next week." He noticed that Johnny face became more relaxed as he snapped out of the vision. He looked at Walt with slight confusion.

"It's supposed to cool down next week," Walt repeated.

"Um…yeah," replied Johnny. He was now even more spooked since Walt was involved in what was going to happen.

"JJ and I are going camping at the weekend," Walt said by way of starting a conversation. 

"Oh really?" 

"Thought we would go up to the White Mountains in New Hampshire. Take in some fishing. Do a bit of hiking. Sarah hasn't decided if she's coming yet." 

At the mention of her name Sarah turned around to look at the two men. "So when do you plan to fix the A/c?"

Walt let out a small laugh. "Later, honey. Sarah's been nagging me to fix it all week."

Johnny let his mouth go into a tight line as he sat down at the table. "I heard there was gonna be heavy rain at the weekend."

"Ah. It won't be that bad. JJ wants to get some camping in before the holidays finish."

Another wave of jealousy washed over Johnny when he heard Walt talking about his son. He took another swig from his beer. 

Sarah walked over to the back door and opened it. "Johnny, dinner's ready!" 

"Coming mom," a little boy's voice called back. Sarah looked over at Johnny and saw his face look apprehensive when he heard his son's voice. 

"He and his friends have built a tree house in the garden. They spend hours up there."

Johnny nodded but said nothing. Then the back door burst open and the six year old boy came running through the door. He came to a sudden stop when he saw Johnny sitting at the table. He looked at his mom who smiled. "Look who's here!" 

JJ said nothing but moved over to Walt and put an arm across Walt's knee. Walt ruffled his hair playfully.

"So your mom tells me you've built a tree house," Johnny said to his son. He tried not to resent the relationship Walt had with JJ. The little boy nodded hesitantly. 

"Maybe after dinner you can show it to me."

JJ didn't reply and Walt saw the disappointed look on Johnny's face. "Sure he will. Won't you champ?" JJ started to laugh as Walt began to tickle the little boy. The laugh was so infectious that it soon a smile was on Johnny's face.

"After dinner," JJ said. He looked at his Mom and thought she looked a little sad. "Mom!"

"What honey?" asked Sarah. 

"Pete wants to know can he play in the tree house while we go camping."

"I don't know, sweetie. He'll have to ask his own mom," replied Sarah.

"Ok."

"Now will you go and wash up for dinner?"

"Ok." JJ went through the kitchen door and the three adults could hear him running up the stairs. 

"He's grown a lot," Johnny said.

Walt looked at the man at the table and felt sympathy for him. 

"He has. He'll be as tall as his fath…" Sarah's voice trailer off when she realised what she was going to say. Walt glanced over at his wife with annoyance while Johnny pretended that he hadn't heard the comment.

When dinner was finished Sarah watched through the window as the men in her life went out to the back garden to have a look at the tree house. She could always see a resemblance between Johnny and JJ but as the days went by it was becoming more apparent. She smiled as her son scrambled up the tree to the wooden hut balanced on the big branches.

"Do you want to come up?" JJ shouted down to Johnny. 

Johnny smiled and held up his cane. "I'd love to but I can't." He thought he saw a look of disappointment on the little boy's face as he said Ok.

"It's quite easy to climb," Walt said to Johnny. "It's not that far if you fall."

Johnny realised that Walt was giving him permission to get to know his son. He nodded with a wry grin. "Have the ambulance waiting for me." The two men laughed.

Johnny handed Walt the cane and began to climb the tree. He realised he hadn't climbed a tree since the week before the car accident. The week everything in his life changed. As soon as he put his foot on a foothold he got a vision.

_//_

_A little boy falls from the tree. He lands on the ground with a bump. His leg is twisted. He's crying._

_                   //_

Johnny glanced back at Walt. "You better tell Peter not to play up here at the weekend."

Walt nodded his head. "I'll do that!"

Johnny managed to climb all the way up to the tree house. His leg throbbed a bit but he ignored the pain. He sat in the tree with his son for a few minutes.

Sarah looked out the window and was horrified to see Johnny sitting in the tree. She threw down the dishcloth and ran out the back door.

"Are you crazy? He could hurt himself," she blurted out before she could stop herself. Walt turned to look at her and then back at the two in the tree. He didn't say anything and Sarah realised she had put her foot in her mouth again. She ran her hand through her hair and then linked her husband in the arm.

"Coming down now!" Johnny said letting little Johnny climb down first. 

"Can Johnny come camping with us at the weekend?" Little Johnny asked as he jumped onto the ground. Sarah and Walt looked at each other and then at Johnny. He had a look of surprise on his face.

"I don't know, sweetie," replied Sarah.

Johnny smiled. "I'm really not the camping type. I've had a lot of bad experiences in the wood recently."

"Yeah.  Remember what happened the last time you were out in the woods? You got lost and hurt yourself," Walt reminded Johnny who nodded.

"It wasn't just that time. There was the time I took that trip and was lost in the woods," said Johnny.

Little Johnny frowned. "What's a trip?" 

The three adults looked at each other and grinned. "They'll tell you when you're older," replied Johnny. He placed his hand on Little Johnny's shoulder before he realised what he was doing.

//

_Thunder and lightening…trees… fast flowing water…body falling into the water and being swept away… Thunder and lightening …trees…fast flowing water…body falling into the water and being swept away… Thunder and lightening …trees…fast flowing water…body falling into the water and being swept away…_

                                                                                                //

TBC


	5. Chapter 4

Author's notes – My apologies for the delay in this chapter. I just haven't had a chance to write anything in the last few weeks. 

Notes and Disclaimer as part one.

Chapter four

Johnny snapped out of the vision and looked in shock at his son as he ran over to play with Walt. The boy didn't seem to notice the man's behaviour. 

Sarah's eyes narrowed when she realised that Johnny was having another vision. The look on his face scared her. But what scared her more was that he'd had a vision which involved her son. Walt and Little Johnny were heading back to the house. Johnny was trailing after them. He was trying to make sense of the vision as well. 

"_What does it have to do with everyone?"_

_"How can I stop this from happening?"_

He saw that Sarah was staring at him. He glanced at her and then he followed Walt and Little Johnny back to the house.

"Johnny!"

He heard her calling him so he stopped and turned to face his former fiancée. "Thanks for dinner, Sarah."

"What did you see?"

He let out a long sigh. "I've been having these really strange visions, Sarah."

"So what's new?"

Johnny saw the grin on her face. "I'm serious, Sarah. Everyone seems to be connected but I can't make sense of it."

"Make sense of what?" Walt came back out of the house to see what was keeping the two.

"Honey, Johnny's latest visions are puzzling him."

Walt knew to trust Johnny when he had visions. "Ok. So what did you see?"

"So far you, Bruce, Dana and Little Johnny are connected." 

Sarah frowned at the mention of Dana's name. She folded her arms but said nothing.

"A thunderstorm. An overflowing river. A body being taken out." A fleeting memory of the vision came to Johnny and he let out a deep breath. "You're taking Little Johnny camping this weekend."

Sarah looked from Walt to Johnny and back again. "You can't go camping this weekend."

Walt stood, with his hands on his hips, looking at his wife and Johnny for several minutes before saying anything. He sighed. "I promised JJ."

"Go another time. Just not this weekend," replied Johnny.

"How do we know it's going to happen this weekend? You said yourself the vision wasn't clear."

"Honey!" Sarah was exasperated. She couldn't believe Walt was playing devil's advocate with Johnny.

"I mean it Sarah. You said it involved Bruce and Dana as well."

"Trust me. I'm gonna tell Bruce and Dana not to go camping as well." Johnny could feel a slight ache in his hip so he leaned on the silver topped cane even more.

The two men stared at each other for a few minutes. Walt began to feel uneasy under the blue gaze of the psychic. He nodded and then strode purposefully back to the house. Johnny watched the retreating back of the sheriff and then limped heavily to the house. When he got to the kitchen he heard Walt tell JJ that they couldn't go camping at the weekend as the weather was going to be bad. 

Later that evening Walt sat on the side of the bath watching JJ get ready for bed. The little boy put down his toothbrush and turned to his father.

"Why can't we go camping?"

Walt smiled at his son who still had a mouthful of foam in his mouth. He handed him a towel. "The weather forecast is for rain and thunderstorm, champ."

"We've been camping when it's been raining before. Why can't we go now?"

"I don't really want to spend the following week getting over the flu."

"Does it have something to do with that man?"

Walt gave the boy a side long glance as he picked up the boy's shoes from the floor. JJ picked up the rest of his clothes. "What man?"

"Mommy's friend."

Before Walt had time to answer Sarah came into the bathroom. She indicated the clothes in the little boy's hand. "Are these for washing?"

JJ nodded and handed them to his mother. She noticed the expression of irritation on her husband's face. "What?"

Walt shook his head. "Nothing." He stood up and walked out of the bathroom. JJ tagged along after his father who came to a sudden halt outside his son's bedroom. He turned and kneeled to face his son. "I was thinking. Maybe we'll go camping after all."

He saw the look of joy on his son's face as he hugged him. He ignored his wife's look of horror on her face. 

******

Johnny lay back on the sofa with a weary sigh. He ran his hand through his blond hair. He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep. His sleep was interrupted by the sound of bells ringing. He opened his eyes to realise that his cell phone was ringing. He grabbed it from the coffee table and pressed the button to answer it.

"Johnny?"

A small smile played on Johnny's face as the unmistakable voice of Dana Bright came on over the line. "Dana."

"I…I just phoned to say goodnight," said the redhead.

"Well goodnight," replied Johnny. These goodnight phone calls had become a nightly ritual since they had their date which wasn't really a date but was.

"So…did you work out the vision?" Dana asked. She raised her eyes to the ceiling, kicking herself that this was the first thing that she said.

"Yeah. I think I stopped it," Johnny said. He struggled to get out of the sofa and made his way over to the liquor cabinet to make himself a scotch.

"That's good." A silence descended amongst the two. Johnny knocked back the scotch and grimaced as the liquid burned on the way down.

"I'm having a scotch. Would you like one?" Johnny asked.

Dana laughed. "Ok."

"Are you coming over then?"

She bit her lip as she considered his invitation. "Ok. I'll be there in fifteen minutes."

********

"How could you put our son at risk like that?" Sarah was angry. She was angry with Walt for ignoring Johnny's prediction about the camping trip. The two stood whispering in the kitchen hoping that their argument wouldn't wake the Little Johnny.

"I'm not putting him at risk," countered Walt. "I'm keeping a promise to our son, _my son_." 

Sarah glared at her husband as he made the very pointed emphasis on the words '_my son.' _"I can't believe you're going to ignore Johnny's prediction."

"Johnny said himself that he couldn't be sure who or when this prediction was going to take place."

"So all the better to listen to him this time."

"Why's that, Sarah? In fact why should we have him in our lives at all?"

Sarah looked at her husband with a hurt expression. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Walt immediately regretted saying that but knew it had to be said. "Nothing."

Sarah slammed her cup of coffee on the table spilling some of the golden liquid. She grabbed a cloth to clean it up. She threw it into the sink and then turned to face her husband who looked angry. "Johnny is an old friend. He has no one else. And don't forget – JJ is his son." She took one last look at Walt and walked out of the room. He watched her leave the room and then turned and banged his hand against the sink.

TBC

I hope to have the next part posted soon.


	6. Chapter 5

Author's note – Thank you for the very positive reviews I have received for this story. They certainly motivate me to continue it!

Summary – All the people in Johnny's life are part of a disturbing vision he must piece together.

Characters – Johnny, Bruce, Dana, Sarah, Walt, Little Johnny.

Spoilers – First Season up to Destiny.

Disclaimer – The Dead Zone belongs to USA Network and Lions Gate Television and is based on the characters and novel by Stephen King.

Content – Drama/Angst/Mystery

Rating – PG13 

Chapter five

Sarah picked up the cooler and placed it in the back of the car. She put her hands on her hips, watching as her husband and son packed up the rest of the car. She and Walt had reached an uneasy truce in their ongoing battles about Johnny. After talking long into the night she and Walt had come to an agreement about their camping trip. They were still going to the same area but she made him agree to stay away from the river and to camp near the ranger's station. Walt had reluctantly agreed. 

JJ ran up to his mother. "Why can't you come, mommy?" 

Sarah smiled at the son and ruffled the blond hair. "I have a meeting with the school board this evening. Otherwise I would go."

Walt glanced back as JJ and Sarah hugged. "Come on Champ. I wanna hit the road before the traffic gets heavy." 

Sarah stood up as JJ climbed into the backseat of the car and strapped himself in. Walt walked over to her and kissed her on the cheek. 

Sarah smiled and gazed into her husband's eyes. "Be careful."

Walt nodded cast his eyes up to the blue cloudless sky. It was still quite humid but not as bad as it had been. "I think the forecasters got it wrong." It hadn't rained all week but still the forecasters were predicting thunderstorms. 

He smiled as he got into the driving seat of the car. "See you Sunday." He blew her a kiss and she pretended to catch it.

A light wind picked up as Sarah watched the car drive down the road. She felt a chill as she turned to go back into the house. She rubbed her hands up and down her arms to get the heat back into her. She glanced up at the sky and noticed some dark clouds on the horizon.

*******

Country music played on the radio as Walt and Little Johnny drove towards the White Mountains in New Hampshire. Little Johnny looked out the window of the car and watched as the landscape changed from suburban to countryside and forests. 

"Dad?"

Walt stopped humming the song on the radio and looked through the rear view mirror to his son. "Yeah?"

"You know the Old Man of the Mountain?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

"Why is it called that?"

"It's a rock formation that looks like an old man's head on the side of the mountain. Some people say it was carved by someone –"

"Like Mount Rushmore!" Little Johnny said excited that he had remembered something from a geography lesson.

Walt smiled. "Yeah, like Mount Rushmore. Others say that it's just a natural phenomenon."

"Will we see it?" 

"It ain't there any more. It collapsed a couple of months back."

"Oh." Little Johnny sat back in the seat and looked out the window again. He listened to his father singing tunelessly to the country music. "Dad?"

"Yeah."

"I've got a headache!"

Walt glanced back at his son. "Are you feeling sick? Do you want me to stop?"

Little Johnny let out a long sigh. "No Dad. It's your singing!"

His father looked back in mock horror. "You don't like my singing?"

The little boy giggled. "No! It frightens me. Put a decent station on!"

A small frown creased Walt's forehead. "Oh." He fiddled with the button on the radio and tuned in some rock music. "That's too loud!"

"No dad. Leave it on!"

"Leave it on? It's just noise!" exclaimed Walt.

"Turn it up!" 

"No!" replied Walt with a wry smile. The two were silent for a few minutes. Walt noticed some very dark clouds getting closer and closer. The first drops of rain started falling as they crossed the state line. At first there were only a few drops but it soon turned into a downpour. The windscreen wipers swished as they cleared the rain off the window.

*********

Sarah stared absently out her kitchen window. She didn't notice the rain pouring from the darkened clouds overhead. Her thoughts turned to Johnny as they usually did. She tried not to but she had a tendency to compare Johnny with Walt. She knew it wasn't fair to do this but it was like a habit. She picked up the phone and stared at it for a few seconds. She put it down again. She grabbed her rain jacket and umbrella and went out the door.

*********

A glowing fire burned in the hearth of the Smith house. Dana lay back into Johnny on the couch, comfortable in his arms. Johnny twirled a strand of red hair around his fingers. 

"Mmm. This is so nice," murmured Dana with her eyes closed.

"It is," replied Johnny. He stared into the fire and then closed his eyes as well. 

Dana sat up suddenly and looked back at Johnny. "Oh I talked to Chatsworth. He said you can start coaching Chuck the week after next."

"Hey that's great. Thanks," replied Johnny. He leaned into her and they kissed. He ran his hands through her hair as their kiss intensified. She sighed quietly as he kissed her neck and began to unbutton her shirt. Then the doorbell sounded. Johnny groaned and lowered his head on her shoulder.

"Ignore it," said Dana. She took Johnny's hand and he stroked her face. The doorbell sounded again. Johnny sighed and reluctantly got to his feet. He turned to Dana and smiled. "I'll get rid of them."

She smiled and lay back on the couch again. She didn't bother buttoning up the shirt again. 

Johnny opened the door and was surprised to see Sarah standing on the doorstep. "Sarah? What are you doing here?"

Sarah frowned at the abrupt tone of voice. "Well… Walt and Johnny are away and I thought you might need some company!" She brushed past Johnny before he could say any more.

"Um…. Sarah. It's not a good time."

"What do you mean it's not a good time?"

"Johnny. Who is it?"

Sarah turned at the sound of a female voice and saw Dana coming out of the living room. She stared at the woman, taking in the stocking feet and the half opened blouse. Pink spots flared on her cheeks as she looked from Dana to Johnny. Johnny's blue eyes went to the floor, to his fingernails, anywhere to avoid looking at the strained smile on Sarah's face.

"Excuse me,' Dana said breaking the silence that had descended upon them. She walked back into the living room buttoning her blouse. She smiled to herself.

"So where did Walt and Johnny go?" Johnny said eventually.

"Camping," replied Sarah. 

Johnny swallowed as he stared at the dark haired woman standing in front of him. "What?" 

She cast her eyes to the ceiling and brought them back to look at Johnny. "I made them promise to stay away from the river. They're not going to do any fishing, swimming. It's ok."

Johnny lowered himself into a nearby chair. He looked up at Sarah with a look of anxiety on his face. 

Sarah smiled at the man with empathy. "It's ok," she said softly kneeling down on the floor beside him. She placed her hand on the arm of the chair. Johnny glanced at Sarah's hand. He saw the flash of the diamond from her engagement ring. Slowly, he took her hand in his and immediately he was transported….

_…back to the forest, standing in a clearing beside a fast flowing river, watching as Sarah dropped to the ground as the rescue team pulled a body from the river. Johnny turned to see a figure huddled in a blanket sitting at the ambulance…_

Johnny dropped Sarah's hand and got out of the chair with some difficulty. It seemed like this vision had zapped him of energy as he swayed on his feet. He reached out and held onto the wall.  Several seconds went by before he turned to Sarah who was still kneeling on the floor. The silence was broken by the clicking sounds of Dana's black high heels as she came back into the hallway. Her eyes went from Sarah to Johnny. "What's going on?"

Sarah didn't move from her kneeling position. "What did you see?

Johnny closed his eyes as if to block out the memory of the vision. He opened them again and looked intensely at Sarah who stood up. "Sarah, call the search and rescue team at the campground, tell them that the thunderstorm will cause a flash flood. Tell them a six year old boy will be swept into the river. His father will try to save him but won't be able to reach him –."

Sarah's hands went to her mouth, unable to comprehend the message Johnny was conveying to her in that urgent tone she had heard so many times before. Dana moved in beside the other woman and made her sit on the chair Johnny had sat in. The sound of a cell phone ringing startled them all.

TBC

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. The next part will be posted soon.

Footnote - The Old Man of the Mountain is a natural rock formation on the side of a mountain in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. A couple of months ago it collapsed.  Thanks to the fan fic geography group for providing me with this information. Who says fan fic isn't educational?!? 


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 

Author's Note – My apologies for not updating quicker but Real Life has a way of butting in too many times! I'll try to update the next chapter faster!! Thanks again for the positive reviews. I'm very happy everyone is enjoying it. 

Summary – All the people in Johnny's life are part of a disturbing vision he must piece together.

Characters – Johnny, Bruce, Dana, Sarah, Walt, Little Johnny.

Spoilers – First Season up to Destiny.

Disclaimer – The Dead Zone belongs to USA Network and Lions Gate Television and is based on the characters and novel by Stephen King.

Content – Drama/Angst/Mystery

Rating – PG13

The shrill ring of the cell phone echoed around the hallway of the Smith house. The three reached for their phone, only to realise that it was Johnny's cell phone that was ringing. He looked at the two women and then moved into the sitting room.

"Hey Johnny, man," Bruce's voice came over the handset. Johnny could hear the TV in the background.

"Can't talk right now, buddy."

Bruce recognised the stress in Johnny's voice. "What happened?"

The blond man paced the sitting room. "The vision!"

"Who was it?"

Johnny glanced out in the hallway where he noticed that Sarah was talking on her own cell phone. "It's Little Johnny."

A breath caught in Bruce's chest as he switched off the television he was watching. "I'll be right over." He ended the call, grabbed his jacket and sprinted out of his house.

Johnny stood in the middle of the living room for several seconds listening to the crackling fire. When he turned to look at the two women he noticed that Sarah was crying silently at the door to the living room. She clutched her cell phone to her chest. 

He quickly moved over to her side. "Did you make the call?"

She wiped away a tear that fell down her face and nodded. "I called Walt but they must be out of range –"

"What about Search and Rescue?"

"They said they couldn't justify spending thousands of dollars to send a team out to search for people who haven't gone missing yet."

Johnny slammed his fist down on the table. He ignored the pain which shot through it. "Dammit." He looked up at the two ladies. "There's only one thing we gotta do then!"

Dana glanced curiously at Johnny. "What's that?"

"We go up there ourselves."

********

The rain poured from the heavy grey clouds as Walt and Little Johnny sat in the car in the campsite. Little Johnny stared unhappily out the car window. He watched as the rain bounced off the ground creating one big puddle. 

"It should stop soon," Walt said looking at his son in the backseat of the car. 

The little boy let out a huge sigh and turned his attention to the computer game he held in his hands. The musical noises and beeps coming from the game were soon drowned out by the noise of heavier rain pounding against the car. 

"Give it a few more minutes champ. It'll ease off in a few minutes," Walt said hoping he was right. He looked out the window and noticed that there were some lighter clouds and blue sky in the distance. As Little Johnny played his game the rain began to get lighter and then it stopped. 

Walt turned around and smiled at his son. "See. We can put the tent up now."

The little boy looked up from his game with a huge smile and raised one arm. "Yay!"

*******

Johnny, Dana and Sarah were running down the steps of Johnny's house when Bruce pulled up in his cruiser. The three stopped when they saw the car stop.

 Bruce looked from Johnny to Sarah to Dana and back to Johnny. "Get in. The cruiser will get us there in no time."

Johnny nodded gratefully to his physical therapist and he climbed into the front seat and the two women got into the back.

Sarah pulled her cell phone out of her pocket again and dialled Walt's number again. She'd lost count of the number of times she had dialled that number. She sighed with frustration and slammed the phone down on the seat when there was no answer. Johnny glanced through the rear view mirror at his ex fiancée and saw that her face was pinched with anxiety. He was trying to keep an outward calm but inside he was just as anxious. He noticed that the dark clouds were building up again to the east. The first fat drops of rain began to fell just as they passed the county line.

********

A light breeze blew as Walt sat on a plastic chair in front of the tent that he and Little Johnny had put up together. It was late evening and he could hear the crickets chirping. The storm clouds had cleared up but small puffs of cloud dotted the dark blue sky. They had set up camp in a valley of the White Mountains. A dense forest and jagged rocks towered over the valley. He could hear the flowing water of river nearby. He watched as Little Johnny took the fishing poles out of the car. A sudden chill came over him as he recalled the vision that Johnny had. 

"Dad? When are we going fishing?"

"Not this weekend, son." 

The little boy's face had a look of disappointment on it. "Why?"

Walt took a drink from the bottle of beer he had in his hand. "Weather ain't too good. We're going home tomorrow morning."

"But we just got here!" Little Johnny's voice had gone into a whine.

"It was a bad idea to come when the weather would be bad. We're going home tomorrow. End of story." Walt got up from the chair and threw the beer bottle into a trash can.

"But Dad!" whined the little boy.

Walt blew some air from his cheeks and frowned at the little boy who was looking at him with a look of defiance on his face. "We'll do it another time, JJ."

The little boy glared at his father, threw the fishing poles on the ground in a fit of temper and stomped off in the direction of the river.

"JJ! COME BACK HERE!" yelled Walt. 

Little Johnny spun around to face his father and scowled at him. "I WANT TO GO FISHING!"

Walt raised his eyes skywards and swore under his breath. "Keep THAT up and we'll pack up and go home now! What would your mother say?"

Little Johnny blinked hard to stop his eyes from filling up with tears. "Don't tell mom."

Walt shook his head. "She's gonna wanna know you yelled at me."

The little boy eyed his father with uncertainty and then looked to the ground. Walt knew the boy was disappointed but too many things had cropped up, spoiling his enjoyment of the camping trip. The main one was Johnny's vision. He knew he should trust the visions. They were never wrong. He recalled the first time he had met Johnny. It was in his office after Johnny had been released from the hospital. The psychic helped him to catch a serial killer which turned out to be one of his own police officers. He pursed his lips and ran his hand through his hair. He walked over to his son and clapped his hand on his shoulder.

The little boy glanced up to see his father smiling down on him. 

"I won't tell your mom. But we're going home tomorrow."

Little Johnny kicked the ground with his foot and stuck his two lips out. "Ok."

"Come on let's have something to eat before the heaven's open again," Walt said ruffling the little boy's blond hair.

Walt looked towards the sky as they finished their meal. The Dark heavy clouds were starting to build up again but they seemed far off in the distance. A humid stillness hung in the air which could only be cleared by a thunderstorm. His mind wandered to the details of Johnny's vision again. 

"_By having knowledge of the future we have the power to change it," _he thought to himself. 

He rubbed his chin as he looked towards the sky again. "Let's call your mom." 

Walt reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He looked at the screen and noticed that he had no signal. He held the phone high in the air but saw that there was no change on the screen. 

"Hey, JJ. There's no signal. Do ya wanna take a walk with me to the highway to see if we can get one."

JJ creased up his face as if contemplating the long walk to the highway. "It's too far. Tell mom I said hi."

Walt bit his lip. "I don't know, JJ."

The boy picked up his computer game and held it out to show his father. "I want to play this. I've nearly beaten my highest score."

Walt sighed. He knew that Little Johnny was mad about his computer game and couldn't be parted from it sometimes. He also knew that once he started to play the game he would stay where he was. He nodded. "Ok. Don't move your butt from that seat. I'll be back in about 15 minutes."

The little boy giggled and high fived his dad. He watched as his father made his way to the highway. As soon as Walt was gone from sight Little Johnny put down his computer game and ran over to the car. He opened the car and pulled out one of the fishing poles. Keeping an eye out for his father he made his way over to the river.

TBC

Author's Note –The end is nearly in sight now! I hope you've all enjoyed reading this as much as I have enjoyed writing it. I hadn't intended to spend so long writing this so I thank you again for your patience between updates! 


	8. Chapter 7

Summary – All the people in Johnny's life are part of a disturbing vision he must piece together.

Characters – Johnny, Bruce, Dana, Sarah, Walt, Little Johnny.

Spoilers – First Season up to Destiny.

Disclaimer – The Dead Zone belongs to USA Network and Lions Gate Television and is based on the characters and novel by Stephen King.

Content – Drama/Angst/Mystery

Rating – PG13

*******

The walk to the highway from the campsite was longer than Walt thought. He wished he had taken the car. He hoped the boy would behave himself; stay put and play the computer game. He could hear the drone of cars nearby as the highway got closer. He stood by the side of the road and looked at his cell phone. He saw that he was in range so he dialled the number of Sarah's cell phone. The phone rang several times before it as answered.

"Hello?" Sarah said as Bruce drove them to the campsite.

"Sarah!"

Sarah frowned as a crackling sound came over the receiver. "Walt?"

She clicked her tongue as the reception crackled and Walt's voice cut in and out. "I can't hear you. You're breaking up."

"I can hear you fine," Walt said but Sarah let out a long sigh. "We're on our way. The vision Johnny had... been about JJ."

The reception on the cell phone crackled just as Sarah spoke. Walt glared at the phone in annoyance and shook it. 

He laughed. "Now I can't hear. What was that last thing you said?"

"I said … the vision was about JJ," Sarah shouted down the phone but still the reception crackled and hissed. All Walt heard was JJ's name.

"He's fine," replied Walt.

The dark haired woman shook her head with frustration. Johnny glanced in the rear view mirror to see the look of irritation on her face. He noticed that Dana was sitting very quietly beside her staring out the window with a slight smile on her face.

"How much further Bruce?" Johnny asked the driver.

Bruce looked at his watch and then out the window of the car. It had stopped raining but the clouds were still leaden. "Less than an hour."

"Could we hurry it please?" Sarah asked from the back seat. She had given up on the phone call because of the interference. 

Walt briskly made his way back to the campsite. He had been gone longer than he'd expected to be. He could hear the rumble of thunder in the distance and he saw flashes of lightening accompanying them. He did not want to be caught in a storm. It may be that they would have to pack up and spend the night in a guesthouse. He knew JJ would be disappointed. As he rounded the corner that opened out on the clearing he saw that the little boy wasn't sitting where he'd left him.

Walt smiled to himself and he crept over to the tent and made some growling noises. When no sound came from inside the tent he wondered if Little Johnny had fallen asleep so he looked through the opening. 

"JJ?" 

Walt frowned and felt around the floor of the tent to see if Little Johnny was playing a game. He pulled back the sleeping bag to find nothing there. He scratched the back of his head as he went out of the tent. 

"JJ?" Walt called again. He scanned the area with the practiced eye of a police officer but saw no sign of him. As he stood beside one of the folding seats with his hands folded, he moved his foot and he felt it connect with something. He looked down and saw the computer game lying on the muddy ground. As he leaned down to pick up the game, a feeling of bile began to rise from his stomach. 

He ran over to the car, the feeling of panic rising in his chest the whole time. He could feel his heart beating in his head.  "JJ!" 

He sat in the driver's seat of the car and started the engine. A thought came to him and he jumped out of the car and looked in the back of the car. He swore to himself when he saw that one of the fishing poles was gone. His jaw muscle tensed as he slammed the car door and ran down towards the river.

"JJ!" he called when he got to the river. He looked wildly around him but caught no sight of his son. He looked at the river and noticed that it was very high and flowing very fast. His breath caught in his throat as he recalled the vision again. 

"No!" he whispered to himself. "JJ!"

Walt made his way along the bank of the river calling the boy intermittently. His feet nearly went from under him several times, as the ground was so muddy. Trees and branches blocked his way and he pushed them back with a force he didn't think he was capable of doing. He never even noticed that one of the branches caught the palm of his hand making a deep cut. Blood soon started to pour from the wound which stained his clothes. Then he came to a halt as a sight appeared in front of his eyes.

A lone fishing pole lay on the bank of the river. The river had eroded away part of the riverbank causing a large chunk of the bank to fall off. Walt stumbled over to the pole sucking in desperate gulps of air as he tried to catch his breath. He grabbed the pole and recognised it as JJ's. He tried to keep his eyes focussed on the fishing pole but his vision kept swimming in and out. He kneeled down and examined the riverbank only to discover that it had happened not so long ago. 

"JJ!" Walt almost screamed the name now. He didn't even notice that it had started to rain again. He made his way back to the campsite to raise the alarm.

"Oh man. It's starting to rain again!" Bruce exclaimed. Johnny sat slouched in the seat beside him. His fingers were laced together with his index fingers tapping against his lip. His face was pinched in concentration as if he was willing a vision to come on.

Sarah leaned forward to the driver's seat. "How much further?"

Johnny could smell the lavender he always associated with her and he glanced back at her. Before he could say anything the wail of sirens came upon them. The four people in the car watched in silence as several ambulances and police cars sped past them with lights flashing and sirens on full blast.

Sarah felt tiny hairs on the back of her neck stand up and she brought her hand to her mouth in horror. Bruce and Johnny eyed each other nervously as Bruce stepped on the gas pedal.

Their greatest fear was realised when they turned into the campsite a few minutes later and flashing lights from the ambulances and police cars greeted them. Paramedics and police officers were standing around talking and consulting maps. They were all wearing waterproof coats and hats.

A breath caught in Sarah's throat. "NO!" The sound of the word came out like a ragged gasp as she jumped out of the car before Bruce had even come to a stop. Johnny gripped onto the top of his cane as he jumped out. He didn't even notice the torrential rain. 

He watched Sarah almost sprinting over to one of the ambulances.  

"WALT!" shouted Sarah.

It was then that he saw Walt sitting on the floor of the ambulance with a blanket wrapped around him. He struggled to his feet when he saw Sarah. His face had an ashen look to it and the rain plastered his head to his hair. His hand was wrapped in a bandage.

"What happened? WHAT HAPPENED?" screamed Sarah.

Walt shook his head but no words could come out of his mouth. 

"Ma'm." Sarah turned to see one of the police officers standing behind her. He tipped his hat to her.

"I'm Mrs Bannerman."

"Mrs Bannerman. We're just about to launch a search and rescue - ."

She swallowed. "JJ?"

"Honey –."

Sarah turned her attention back to her husband. "You…You wouldn't listen to me! Or take heed of Johnny's vision. THIS IS ALLYOUR FAULT!" She began to beat his chest with her fists. At first, he put up no resistance but then he took her wrists allowing her to struggle against him for several minutes. He could hear her sobbing as she collapsed to the ground. 

"I'm sorry," he whispered. The police officer helped her up. He grabbed a blanket from the ambulance and sat her beside Walt. 

Bruce and Johnny walked over to Walt who looked at them with pain in his eyes. 

"Sorry man. I should have just listened to you."

Johnny nodded and glanced at Sarah who was sipping something from a flask.

"Do you think it's too late?" Walt asked. 

Johnny's eyes went to the ground and then he turned them to look at the man sitting in front of him. "We can always try."

The two men locked eyes for several minutes. Walt nodded and picked up the computer game that was on the floor of the ambulance beside him. He held it out to the other man. Hesitating for just a fraction of a second, he took a deep breath and took the game in his hand.

//

_The scene in the forest changes. Johnny follows the river. A little boy clings to an outcrop. Johnny looks around and noticed a rock in the shape of a dome. Eyes back on the little boy. He's crying but loosing strength from the force and the temperature of the river._

       //

With a jolt, Johnny was back to the present time. He could feel everyone's eyes on him. "Well?" asked Walt.

Johnny swallowed. "There's still time!"

TBC

Ok not much left to go, folks. I hadn't intended to spend so long writing this fic but Real Life and other stuff just kept getting in the way.


	9. Chapter 8

Characters – Johnny, Bruce, Dana, Sarah, Walt, Little Johnny.

Spoilers – First Season up to Destiny.

Timeline – After Dinner with Dana, Before Destiny.

Disclaimer – The Dead Zone belongs to USA Network and Lions Gate Television and is based on the characters and novel by Stephen King.

Content – Drama/Angst/Mystery

Rating – PG13

Johnny heard a sharp intake of breath from Sarah. 

The officer in charge came over. "We don't have much light left and the weather is making it impossible to get a chopper out. We're going to have to call the search off for tonight."

Walt cleared his throat. "Sheriff Maxwell. This is Johnny Smith. He's helped us out up at Penobscot several times."

The sheriff shook his head. "Sorry Walt."

"He's psychic. He _knows where JJ is." _

A stream of rain trickled off Maxwell's hat as he pushed it back. "Bannerman. We don't use psychics in New Hamps-"

"Sir. The boy is still alive but if we wait any longer he's going to loose his strength and his grip from the outcrop in the river under the dome. He's going to be swept further down the river and over the waterfall. Your people will find him in the morning floating beside the stone bridge." Johnny pointed his finger at the sheriff to emphasise his point.

The sheriff fixed his eyes on the man. If the situation hadn't been so serious he would have laughed at him. 

"He's never wrong Sheriff!" Sarah said in a soft voice.

He nodded slowly and then called over two of his men. As soon as the directions were given, the search and rescue set off. Johnny and Walt asked to go as well and after some argument the sheriff relented and let them go as well as Bruce. He did, however, nix the idea of the women coming along. Sarah, rather reluctantly, sat in the car alongside Dana. She chewed on a hangnail as she stared out the rain-streaked window. 

******

Johnny found it hard on his leg as the rescue team made their way through the forest. It was difficult going for even the most hardened of rescuers as the rain had made the ground slippery. Sometimes they had to go another direction as the passage was blocked. He used his cane to get a grip on the ground. He was so wet at this stage that he didn't notice how uncomfortable it was after a while. Walt followed behind the blond hair man. He hadn't spoken a word since they had left the campsite. Johnny looked back at Walt and saw a look of sadness in Walt's face. He caught Walt's eye who gave him a grim smile and nodded his head slowly.

The Search and Rescue leader, Barrens, stopped and turned to look at the rest of the team. He looked at his watch. The rest of the group stood in a semi circle around him. "The light's fading. We have a choice of continuing or head back to camp."

"So what happens if we head back to camp?" Walt asked wearily. He already knew what the answer was going to be.

"Start searching again in the morning?" replied the man.

"Yes. But with one difference."

Johnny looked from Walt to Bruce and back to the man in charge. "I'm guessing that difference will be that it's recovery, not rescue."

The other man nodded. Walt let out a shout which sounded like a wild animal to Johnny's ears and lunged himself at the search and rescue leader. Bruce held him back. "Take it easy, man. We'll find him."

Barrens sighed as he recognised the grief in the father of the boy. He had seen it all too often. "It might be too late already," he said quietly.

Johnny turned his attention back from Walt to Barrens. "Are we far from the domed rock?" 

Barrens shook his head. 

Johnny reached into his jacket and pulled out the pocket computer.

_H saw the little boy still struggling against the current and flow on the river._

All eyes were on Johnny as he came out of the vision. He looked at the other men and swallowed. "He's still alive but there's not a lot of time." He turned around and headed off in the direction of the rock. Walt and Bruce glanced at each other and headed off after him. The rest of the members of the team looked at each other and shrugged. They followed the others.

The sound of the river thundered past them as they made their way through the thick undergrowth. The ground was sodden and slippery. Walt had to grab Bruce at one stage as the ground went from under him. After several more minutes Johnny came to a halt which caused Walt to nearly knock him down

Walt noticed that Johnny was staring at something. "What is it?"

As Johnny pointed out the rock shaped like the dome they heard a faint voice. 

"Help"

Walt clapped Johnny on the shoulder and scrambled over to the river's edge. He looked wildly around for something to grab onto as the embankment was quite high. He grabbed a tree branch and leaned over the edge. His ears were filled with the roaring sound of the river but he spotted a red sleeve holding onto an outcrop. Walt brushed his wet hair out of his eyes and focussed again. He saw a little boy bobbing up and down as he held onto the outcrop for dear life. Sometimes the little boy was forced under the water by the rushing river but several seconds later he would appear again.

"JOHNNY!" yelled Walt as Johnny, Bruce and the rest of the rescue team rushed over. Barrens took over immediately and started issuing instructions to the rest of the team. Johnny watched as the team worked together to get a rope with a team member lowered down to reach Little Johnny. The team member tied it around the tired and frozen little boy and the rest of the men pulled the two up. A blanket and silver foil was immediately wrapped around the boy and Walt hugged him and berated him for wandering off.

********

Sarah wrapped her arms around her body as she stared through the window of the emergency room. She shivered involuntarily as she realised how close she was to loosing her precious son. She repressed a yawn as she turned to face the men in her life. They were both wrapped in blankets sipping hot drinks. She locked eyes with Johnny and gave him a grateful smile. Walt watched as Johnny returned the smile to his wife and realised, not for the first time, the extent of their feelings for each other. He felt an ache in his heart when he concluded that Sarah would probably never really love him. Sarah shifted her eyes to her husband and a pink flush coloured her cheeks. She brought her lips together and gave a small tight strained smile. 

The sound of the door opening broke the silence in the waiting room. They all turned to see a white coated woman with a clipboard come through the doorway. Her name tap read Dr. Avery.

"Mr and Mrs Bannerman?" she queried.

Walt nodded as he took Sarah's elbow and moved them both over to the doctor. Johnny stayed seated but observed the two.

"How is he? Is he alright? Will he recover?" Sarah's questions came thick and fast as the doctor smiled gently.

"He'll be fine. He was suffering from exposure which we are treating him for. Bruises and scrapes…."

Sarah's hands flew up to her mouth. "Exposure!"

"From being submerged in the river from such a long time. It brought his body temperature down. He's quite a plucky boy. A lot more people would have given up sooner."

Sarah let out a sigh. "Can we see him?"

The doctor nodded. "In a while. We've to do other tests."

"Other tests?" asked Walt.

"In cases like this we do a number of tests to determine the quality of the river water inhaled or swallowed -"

"Oh!" exclaimed Sarah.

The doctor gave the woman a kindly smile. "It's not as bad as it sounds. We're going to treat him with antibiotics as his immune system has been compromised."

Walt placed an arm around his wife's shoulder as they listened to the doctor explain the treatment to them. Then the sound of the doctor's beeper sounded. She glanced down at it and frowned before excusing herself and hurrying back through the door she came. Sarah and Walt walked back over to the chairs in the waiting room and sat down. 

It seemed like several hours before Dr Avery returned to them but in reality it was only about thirty minutes. The three stood up as she re entered the room. 

"I'm sorry I had to rush off. I'm afraid it was to do with Little Johnny."

A gasp of air came from Sarah as she sat back down on the seat. "He's gone."

Walt looked sharply at his wife and then back at the doctor. She shook her head and smiled. "No. His body temperature went down again and he had a problem regulating it but we have it under control now."

"Oh thank god," Sarah said under her breath as Walt pulled her up and hugged her.

"You can see him now."

Sarah and Walt followed the doctor to the door. Just as they went through Walt stopped to look at Johnny. "Are you coming?"

Johnny stood up but shook his head. "Maybe later."

He saw Sarah's face cloud with disappointment but knew that this was not his place.

"He'd be happy to see you," Sarah said ignoring the quizzical look her husband gave her.

Johnny swallowed and smiled. "Tell him I'll see him later."

Walt nodded and took Sarah's arm and guided her through the door.

Johnny stood watching them for a few minutes, wishing it were him going to see his son. He lowered his head and limped out the door. He slowly walked down the steps as his mind filled with thoughts. He decided to ask Sarah and Walt to see more of Little Johnny. He felt sure that he didn't want them to tell the little boy that he was his father yet. Just spending more time with him would be enough for now.

Someone calling his name interrupted his reverie. He turned to see Dana approaching him. He smiled when he saw her.

"Ms Bright. What can I do for you?"

The red haired woman smiled coyly. "Well we were interrupted the other night…."

He raised his eyebrows. "Were we?"

Dana glanced to the ground and then into Johnny's eyes. "I've booked into a motel."

Johnny nodded. "Did you?"

"Or we could drive back to Cleaves Mills."

"Do you want to know how JJ is going to be?"

Dana smiled. "I already know. I called the hospital."

"They told you?"

"They did."

Johnny grinned as he appraised the woman standing in front of him.

"So?"

He pretended to look puzzled. "What?"

"Are we driving back to Cleaves Mills tonight?"

"I was hoping Bruce would give me a ride."

"Bruce went home already. Said he would talk to you tomorrow."

"Oh. In that case-"

"What?"

"Motel would be fine."

"Good," replied Dana.

"I just need to have a hot shower and a good sleep," said Johnny stretching his muscles. 

"Would you like a back massage?" asked Dana noticing his discomfort.

"Oh that's ok. Bruce will do it when I get home."

"I give a good back massage."

"Do you? 

"Yes. I'll look after you."

Johnny turned to Dana as they were getting into the car and kissed her lightly on the lips. 

Sarah watched her son sleeping in the hospital ward. Every day he was getting more and more like Johnny. Walt sat on the other side of the bed holding the little boy's hand. Sarah saw so much love in Walt's face for Little Johnny that it made her sad. Walt glanced up at his wife and wondered what was going through her mind. Sarah felt him looking at her and looked at Walt. She gave him a half smile and stroked JJ's face. Sarah then got up and stared out the window. She felt a stab of jealousy as she saw Dana and Johnny in the parking lot. She knew they were on intimate terms and realised that although Johnny was moving on maybe she wasn't ready. She needed to speak to him and resolved to do it soon.

The End


End file.
